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      Blindsight

      198
      Peter Watts
      October 3, 2006
      Macmillan
      Item added to wishlist.
      Item removed from wishlist.
      2

      Blindsight is the Hugo Award–nominated novel by Peter Watts, "a hard science fiction writer through and through and one of the very best alive" (The Globe and Mail).

      Two months have past since a myriad of alien objects clenched about the Earth, screaming as they burned. The heavens have been silent since—until a derelict space probe hears whispers from a distant comet. Something talks out there: but not to us. Who should we send to meet the alien, when the alien doesn't want to meet?

      Send a linguist with multiple-personality disorder and a biologist so spliced with machinery that he can't feel his own flesh. Send a pacifist warrior and a vampire recalled from the grave by the voodoo of paleogenetics. Send a man with half his mind gone since childhood. Send them to the edge of the solar system, praying you can trust such freaks and monsters with the fate of a world. You fear they may be more alien than the thing they've been sent to find—but you'd give anything for that to be true, if you knew what was waiting for them. . . .

      At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

      Peter Watts

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      Behemoth: B-Max
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      Behemoth: B-Max
      Peter Watts August 26, 2014
      2
      Starfish lit the fuse. Maelstrom was the explosion. But five years into the aftermath, things aren't quite so simple as they once seemed...

      Lenie Clarke--rifter, avenger, amphib...

      2
      Behemoth: Seppuku
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      Behemoth: Seppuku
      Peter Watts August 26, 2014
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      Lenie Clarke--amphibious cyborg, Meltdown Madonna, agent of the Apocalypse--has grown sick to death of her own cowardice.

      For five years (since the events recounted in Maelstrom), she ...

      2
      Starfish
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      Starfish
      Peter Watts September 16, 2014
      2
      A huge international corporation has developed a facility along the Juan de Fuca Ridge at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean to exploit geothermal power. They send a bio-engineered crew--people who ha...
      2
      Maelstrom
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      Maelstrom
      Peter Watts January 6, 2009
      2
      An enormous tidal wave on the west coast of North America has just killed thousands. Lenie Clarke, in a black wetsuit, walks out of the ocean onto a Pacific Northwest beach filled with the oppresse...
      2
      Echopraxia
      Pre-ordered
      Echopraxia
      Peter Watts August 26, 2014
      2
      Prepare for a different kind of singularity in Peter Watts' Echopraxia, the follow-up to the Hugo-nominated novel Blindsight

      It's the eve of the twenty-second century: a world ...

      2
      Echopraxia
      Pre-ordered
      Echopraxia
      Peter Watts May 7, 2015
      2
      It's the eve of the 22nd century and the beginning of the end.

      Humanity splinters into strange new forms with every heartbeat: hive-minds coalesce, rapture-stricken, speaking in tongues; sol...

      2
      Beyond the Rift
      Pre-ordered
      Beyond the Rift
      Peter Watts November 12, 2013
      2
      Skillfully combining complex science with finely executed prose, these edgy, award-winning tales explore the always-shifting border between the known and the alien.

      The beauty and peril of t...
      2
      Beyond the Rift
      Pre-ordered
      Beyond the Rift
      Peter Watts November 12, 2013
      2
      Skillfully combining complex science with finely executed prose, these edgy, award-winning tales explore the always-shifting border between the known and the alien.

      The beauty and peril...
      2
      Crysis: Legion
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      Crysis: Legion
      Peter Watts March 22, 2011
      2
      MANHATTAN IS UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT.
      THEY’RE NOT FROM AROUND HERE.
       
      Welcome to the Big Apple, son. Welcome to the city that never sleeps: invaded by monstrous fusions of meat and machine...
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      Firefall
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      Firefall
      Peter Watts September 11, 2014
      2
      February 13, 2082, First Contact. Sixty-two thousand objects of unknown origin plunge into Earth's atmosphere – a perfect grid of falling stars screaming across the radio spectrum as they burn. Not...
      2
      My review
      Review from

      Reviews

      4.3
      198 total
      A Google User
      BLINDSIGHT Alien-contact tale in which humans are at least as weird as the aliens.Eighty years from now, denizens of Earth become aware of an alien presence when the sky fills with bursts of light from dying Fireflies, tiny machines that signal to a supergiant planet far beyond the edge of the solar system. With orders to investigate, the vessel Theseus carries an artificial intelligence as its captain
      Justin Barr
      Terrible writing I think there was a good story in there? I think people are confusing "hard sci-fi" with crappy writing. This is one of the worst written books I've read in years.
      Xuan Yuan Huang
      Riveting sci-fi in the fullest sense of the word, pushing the limits and inspiring much pondering about the nature of life and consciousness. Unfortunately, the plot itself can be difficult to follow, and the rationalized vampires, while a critical part of the message, are frankly bizarre.
      Tanner Harvey
      First rate hard scifi with a while bunch of gritty existential themes first-contact story in the hard science fiction tradition. a wonderful exploration of transhumanism and consciousness loaded with messy and realistic characters buckling under seriously hostile circumstances and their combined neuroses. a great and quick read to leave ya thinking. also, there's a vampire character. you can download free via CC on Watts' website: http://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm. 
      Hugh Messenger
      Great. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
      Jim Cliffe
      A strang and fascinating story.

      Critic reviews

      A Google User
      Kirkus - Jane Doe
      BLINDSIGHT Alien-contact tale in which humans are at least as weird as the aliens.Eighty years from now, denizens of Earth become aware of an alien presence when the sky fills with bursts of light from dying Fireflies, tiny machines that signal to a supergiant planet far beyond the edge of the solar system. With orders to investigate, the vessel Theseus carries an artificial intelligence as its captain
      Full Review

      User reviews

      Justin Barr August 30, 2016
      Terrible writing I think there was a good story in there? I think people are confusing "hard sci-fi" with crappy writing. This is one of the worst written books I've read in years.
      Full Review
      Xuan Yuan Huang August 27, 2016
      Riveting sci-fi in the fullest sense of the word, pushing the limits and inspiring much pondering about the nature of life and consciousness. Unfortunately, the plot itself can be difficult to follow, and the rationalized vampires, while a critical part of the message, are frankly bizarre.
      Full Review
      Tanner Harvey July 19, 2016
      First rate hard scifi with a while bunch of gritty existential themes first-contact story in the hard science fiction tradition. a wonderful exploration of transhumanism and consciousness loaded with messy and realistic characters buckling under seriously hostile circumstances and their combined neuroses. a great and quick read to leave ya thinking. also, there's a vampire character. you can download free via CC on Watts' website: http://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm. 
      Full Review
      Hugh Messenger April 21, 2016
      Great. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
      Full Review
      Jim Cliffe July 6, 2015
      A strang and fascinating story.
      Full Review
      Dean Jackson March 3, 2015
      Got me to read sci fi again Picked this up because it was under a free license, and that was weird. Best sci fi I'd read in a decade, wound up paying for it as a thank you to the author for being awesome.
      Full Review
      Frank Smith February 24, 2015
      Was ok. Lots of technogibberish in spots.
      Full Review
      Shannon Posniewski August 7, 2014
      OK hard SF Good read but gets a little bogged down on the philosophical side.
      Full Review
      Martin Kimoni July 30, 2014
      I went to Heaven and felt the radiance. I don't know about the reactions from others. But stating I thoroughly enjoyed this book would be an understatement. Even after the book ended. The story felt as though it were still coming a live within me. This must be what plants feel like in spring when they bloom. An instant favorite. Watts writes so well, it's as if he coded a virus that demands your attention, forcefully pulling you down some spiral vortex. Ah! My writing is too sad. I can't describe what I went through. I just hope this review inspires others into taking a gander.
      Full Review
      Stephanie Kleyman July 20, 2014
      Simply loved it A.must. read. You may have to look up some words- but that just adds to the entire experience.
      Full Review
      Steven Krashefski September 19, 2013
      Amazing This book is visionary. It will entertain you, but it will also, and maybe more importantly, make you think. I'd recommend this to anybody.
      Full Review
      Cory Novak June 8, 2013
      Decent, not great A little hard to follow not in a good way. Entertaining regardless.
      Full Review
      Jan Vincent Latzko June 4, 2013
      Different. Makes you think, I love it (I fed the cats) (I won't let any content slip, the above is already enough of a spoiler) It has been a few days since I finished this book and I still find myself thinking about some of the consequences. This is seriously the best book I've read this year by far. It forces you to reconsider, experience new views, defend your intuition. And you ultimately fail at that last part. Didn't really warm up to the caracters (except Sarasti, this faction needs to get a spin-off!), but the story is really not letting you off the hook. Sometimes you wonder whether you got that last page right, sometimes you reread half a "chapter". Sometimes you wonder about the 'jumpiness' of it all, and at least I felt like the saga isn't finished with the last page. Believe me, it is worth it..
      Full Review
      nmele
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review The first of two recent novels whose plot features a genetically re-engineered subspecies of human, the other being Richard K. Morgan's "Thirteen". Watts book, which appears to be half of a longer
      Full Review
      tomxtobin
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review In lieu of the longer review this book deserves, I'll simply say this for now: Blindsight is the best work of fiction I've ever read. Temper that with the knowledge that I strongly lean towards "hard
      Full Review
      Isamoor
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review Apr11: Characters: They were at least okay. He did develop them and kept them varied. They just didn't seem all that real. Plot: Confusing as shit. Yes, I realize some of that was thematic. But still
      Full Review
      Aerrin99
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review This book is odd and both interesting and difficult in turns. It was worth the read, but I wouldn't say I precisely /enjoyed/ the read. Set in a future where humanity has resurrected vampires (which
      Full Review
      candlemark
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review This is an extremely difficult, extremely worthwhile book.It's not an actiony space thriller, even though it deals with an alien invasion.It's not about sexy vampires, or about evil killer vampires
      Full Review
      lanes_3
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review This was an odd book. It was an interesting story, but sometimes hard to follow. I'd probably try this again, but want it in physical form to page back and forth.
      Full Review
      Jamten
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review This was is a challenging book to get into because of the technical jargon. But the story is very interesting, and the main characters and aliens are so refreshingly unique. I will definitely return to it again someday for rereading.
      Full Review
      patrickgarson
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review No wan space opera, Blindsight is certainly an ambitious scifi novel. Watts has done his research, and taken a real "kitchen sink" approach to squeezing it in. This comes at the expense of clarity
      Full Review
      wrongwayhome
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review 1. This is hard sci-fi. Book contains many scientific references, that is good as you can check out these sources he used to write the book. 2. I'm not sure, but this is authors reply to vampire pulp
      Full Review
      ZetaSyanthis
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review Absolutely magnificent. This book reminds me a little bit of Aronofsky's films (Requiem for a Dream, Pi, Black Swan) but with its own very sci-fi and unique twist. I can't remotely do it justice
      Full Review
      dulac3
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review Wow. This was a tough one. It was a very good hard sf book that I don't think I'll be coming back to anytime soon. As others have said: "abandon hope all ye who enter here." A well written
      Full Review
      JenneB
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review Okay, I gave this book TWO second chances because I had heard great things about it, but I eventually gave up. It's certainly a gutsy choice to have a person with no empathy as your main character
      Full Review
      wealhtheowwylfing
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review Really interesting, chock full of ideologies, debates, and fascinating new technologies. It's great scifi. The only problem is that I completely disagree with the main premise of the book, which turns
      Full Review
      lente
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review I really liked this book. Some of the ideas in it still have me thinking.
      Full Review
      crdf
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review I like it, but I think it needs a second reading. The only thing that disappointed me is that I was left with the feeling that nothing much actually happened in the book. It's quite slow moving but it
      Full Review
      rmagahiz
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review I can't fault his cleverness in setting up the plot, but the style of writing is not really for me. I am having a hard time figuring out who these characters are, and the dialogue and prose seem kind
      Full Review
      Achromatic
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review Each time I have tried to describe this book to someone I end up making it sound silly when it's actually amazing.
      Full Review
      leo8
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review Delightfully woven prose testing the boundaries of the human condition while maintaining a flowing narrative and succulant plot.
      Full Review
      CharityBradford
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review Wow! This is going to be a different kind of review for me. I can honestly say I'm not sure I understand what happened in this book, but I kept reading because I felt some underlying "thing" driving
      Full Review
      BayardUS
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review This book suffered in my estimation because I read it in close proximity to Solaris, a book that is a vastly superior depiction of contact between humanity and an alien. That being said, Blindsight is
      Full Review
      jrissman
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review "Blindsight" is an idea book. Nearly all of its science- the science that really matters- is biology, with a special emphasis on neurology. This is unusual for a book set in space, where plasma
      Full Review
      semjaza
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review This messed with my mind. The plot's okay, the characters are okay, but the main selling point here is the weirdness, and this book has plenty. It will make you think, and then it will make you think about thinking.
      Full Review
      AlanPoulter
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review Forget 2001 and its progeny, this is *the* novel about alien contact. Both the aliens *and* the humans depicted in it seem both totally realistic but are 'alien' in different ways. It is not an easy read, but it is a rewarding one...
      Full Review
      RalphLagana
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review Wanted to give it 5 stars but it wasn't always easy to follow the events in the book. This IS hard science fiction and not for the faint of heart. I'll definately read Watts next book. There just aren't enough sci fi writers out there willing to push the envelope.
      Full Review
      Clevermonkey
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review The setup: Five humans pushed beyond the bleeding edge of neurological enhancement are sent in a hasty mission to investigate aliens beyond Pluto. A fascinating look at the concepts of sentience and
      Full Review
      AwesomeAud
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review Very confusing, but very interesting. In the near future, unaugmented humans are not terribly useful. Most have make-work jobs, or have ascended into 'Heaven', a total immersion virtual world. Many
      Full Review
      kencf0618
      LibraryThing
      LibraryThing Review Overwrought but worthwhile. You've gotta love an extremely hard science fiction novel (with a ten-page appendix! Nom-nom-nom...) in which sentience wins and consciousness loses --presumably the orangutans wouldn't be taking over.
      Full Review
      Review deleted

      Additional information

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      Pages
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      English
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      9781429955195
      Genres
      Science Fiction & Fantasy Fiction / Science Fiction / Alien Contact Fiction / Science Fiction / Hard Science Fiction
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      Google Commerce Ltd
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